Tennessee Titans Vs. Houston Texans: What To Look For

What an amazing turn of events that has transpired over the past two weeks.

The Houston Texans go from being a media darling once again after their beat down of the Cleveland Browns to being another team that’s an afterthought in the AFC race to the finish after their stinging 22-13 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals.

The game was extremely reminiscent of the 2013 season where our offense would stall on third-down forcing Shane Lechler to punt. He was quite busy last week in addition to Randy Bullock, to which his six points comprised of half of the Texans’ total points on the board.

A.J. Green and Mohamed Sanu were just having their way with the majority of the Texans’ secondary and it was just extremely tough to watch.

J.J. Watt was largely ineffective because he was commanding double and triple teams making it quite difficult to do the things he does to help our team win.

It was just one of those games that provided a thin slimmer of hope that the Texans would get in the groove offensively and get back in the game but it never came to fruition.

The definitive highlight for last week’s game was Johnathan Joseph‘s Pick 6 off Andy Dalton to where he eventually returned the football for 60 yards.

I thought at that moment there would be some momentum but it never seemed to materialize.

Oh well — it’s on to a new week and this time the Texans will host the Tennessee Titans.

Checking in one month later, the Titans have not changed all that much with the exception of some key injuries and that they’ve lost five straight now.

Nonetheless, the Titans are a team that they should be able to beat with ease just like the last time they faced each other.

Here’s some things to look for position-wise as both teams take the field:

Nov 23, 2014; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Tennessee Titans quarterback

Zach Mettenberger

(7) throws the ball against the Philadelphia Eagles at Lincoln Financial Field. The Eagles won 43-24. Mandatory Credit: Derik Hamilton-USA TODAY Sports

QUARTERBACK: There were a whirlwind of changes at this position. Ryan Mallett suffered a season-ending injury to his right pectoral muscle in last week’s contest against the Bengals. It definitely showed as he seemed to be a bit off on his throws and just didn’t look like the same player we saw against the Browns the previous week. He went 21-of-45 for 189 yards with no touchdowns and one pick for a 49.2 QB rating. Although those are the numbers, I’m not focused on them because he was playing hurt and I tip my hat of to someone who wanted to try to help his team win despite the incredible pain they may have been in. The Texans have now turned back to Ryan Fitzpatrick to lead as their signal-caller once again — for how long? I’m not sure but if he starts helping the team win football games, it will be for the rest of the way — whatever that may be. A respectable end to the season? A postseason? We’ll see. By the way, he did go 19-of-35 for 227 with one touchdown and no picks for a 82.9 QB rating. Nothing to write home about but he got the job done and that’s hopefully what the Texans will get out of him. The Titans are good at the defending the pass — they are currently ranked 10th giving up 233 yards per game. It will be an uphill battle for Fitz but it can be done. So how has Zach Mettenberger been doing since we last saw him? Not too bad but not too good either. Since his first NFL career start against the Texans Oct. 26, he has gone 80-of-136 for 1,103 yards for a 58.8 completion percentage and a 86.7 QB rating. He has passed for seven touchdowns to five interceptions. The Texans still remain abysmal in the pass rush — 31st in pass defense — giving up 273 yards per game so let’s hope Mettenberger doesn’t get hot. He said that he hasn’t been taking any selfies either because he likely knows what that will lead to. It will still be interesting to see the rookie’s progression as well as Fitz trying to hold things together after not playing for the past couple of weeks.

Nov 2, 2014; Houston, TX, USA; Houston Texans quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick (14) hands off to running back

Arian Foster

(23) during the game against the Philadelphia Eagles at NRG Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports

RUNNING BACK: Arian Foster is likely to play tomorrow which bodes well for the Texans. He has been out the past couple of weeks nursing hamstring and groin injuries. He will be able to run all over the Titans’ defensive line and he’ll have a game with rushing yards over the century mark. The Titans are last in rush defense giving up 145 per game, you can bank on it! Alfred Blue struggled last week to find a hole to run through as he earned every bit of those 46 yards off 16 carries. It wasn’t all Blue’s fault, the Bengals d-line wasn’t going to let anything through and that included him. The Texans continue to be solid in stymieing team’s running games holding steady at 17th in rush defense giving up 115 yards per game. The Texans held the Titans to 46 rushing yards in their last contest and I don’t see any reason as to why our d-line can’t do it again. Bishop Sankey, Shonn Greene and Dexter McCluster will handling the carrying duties with Sankey being the featured back.

Nov 23, 2014; Houston, TX, USA; Houston Texans wide receiver

Andre Johnson

(80) during the game against the Cincinnati Bengals at NRG Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports

WIDE RECEIVER: The ball was quite evenly spread around last week amongst DeAndre Hopkins, Andre Johnson and Damaris Johnson. Hopkins caught five balls for 39 yards, Andre Johnson — 3-for-36 and Demaris Johnson — 3-for-21. I’d expect the same for tomorrow as well. It will be a matter of who’s open and ready to pounce on any opportunity that’s available. We won’t see many deep passes down field because of Fitz’s limitations and he’ll be cautious because of the Titans’ solid pass rush capabilities. Nate Washington and Kendall Wright will be available with Justin Hunter in the slot. I’m quite worried about our secondary being able to cover these guys — they were fine in the last contest but they’re getting worse especially with the injury to Kareem Jackson. They cannot let these guys get their motors started because it would be quite embarrassing if they did. My best inclination is that they can contain the Titans’ wide outs but that unit has been extremely unpredictable so we will have to see.

Nov 23, 2014; Houston, TX, USA; Houston Texans cornerback Johnathan Joseph (24) returns an interception for a touchdown during the game against the Cincinnati Bengals at NRG Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports

DEFENSE (FRONT 7 & SECONDARY): As opposed to last week, Watt will have a heck of game tomorrow. The Titans offensive line is banged up and largely not effective in protecting Mettenberger. Michael Oher and Taylor Lewan will be game-time decisions and have not practiced all week. Byron Stingily and Will Svitek will be ready to go if needed likely making that line a bit weaker on each side. He has already been sacked 12 times in his four starts and Watt will continue to increase that number. It’s really good to see Brian Cushing out there helping out, although he may never be a player of the same explosiveness that he had when he came into the NFL, he still will continue to be a force to reckon with and that’s because of his undeniable work ethic. Jadeveon Clowney will still suffering from setbacks of his knee surgery, unfortunately not making him available for tomorrow’s game. Whitney Mercilus will step in his spot and I look for him to have a big game. He’s due for it. I’ve said it time and time again, the secondary needs to step up and defend that pass! This is dreadful to watch! However, I’m pleased with the progression of Darryl Morris and A.J. Bouye. Hopefully, Kareem Jackson will be back next week to help them out. It’s badly-needed. Keep your eye out for Michael Griffin, who’s expected to play Sunday through a shoulder injury that he sustained last week against the Philadelphia Eagles. The Texans can use that to their advantage in their passing game depending on his effectiveness.